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Chapter 65
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The 5th Wave, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Trust and Belief
Survival and Perseverance
Warfare and Dehumanization
Family
Summary
Analysis
Evan and Cassie pack light as they begin heading toward Wright-Patterson, although she finds room to bring Sammy’s teddy bear. As they prepare to leave, Evan makes a comment about first seeing Cassie in the woods—but Cassie says he actually first found her in a snowbank. She asks what Evan was really doing the night he claimed to be going to his girlfriend’s grave. Evan sticks to his story.
Evan has been making potentially suspicious comments since he first met Cassie, but this is the first time that she seems to catch him in a lie. Evan’s refusal to back down, even after Cassie confronts him with her version of the story, shows how the truth can be difficult to discover, particularly when people have different perspectives.
Themes
Cassie says she’ll only trust Evan because she knows he could’ve easily killed her earlier. Cassie decides to cut her hair before leaving because it feels symbolically important, but then she just feels that it makes her look too young. Evan says he’s going to burn down his house as a diversion. As they spread gasoline, Cassie wonders whether maybe they should’ve just burned the barn, but Evan says he knows neither of them will ever come back to the house.
Cassie’s decision to trust Evan, despite of some of his suspicious statements, suggests that actions speak louder than words. With his actions, Evan has helped nurse Cassie back to health. The burning of Evan’s farmhouse represents another turning point and how this journey will force Evan to finally leave behind the last remnants of his old life.
Themes
